Todaiji & Daibutsu

At the entrance of Todaiji. There are many deer in Nara. They are considered the messangers of the gods, and thus sacred.

Off we go to the next temple!

This is the gate you have to go through to get to the main building with the giant buddha statue.

The deer were very tame. But you have to watch them as they sometimes try to eat your clothes!

Why the long face?

This is Japan's biggest wooden building.

Another statue of a guardian spirit/god.

Behold the Daibutsu (giant buddha). One of the boys I think asked me at this point "was buddha really this big?" Only one of many amusing questions asked on this trip.

James managed to get through "Buddha's Nostrils"! No we didn't literally climb up the giant Buddha statue to go through it's nostrils. It was just a hole (which is the same size as Buddha's nostrils) in one of the wooden pillars.

We made a few friends as we were waiting in line to go through Buddha's nostrils.

Andy managed to get through too, with a little bit of struggle.

Amarind eventually managed to get through the hole with a bit of help from his teacher. It is believed that if you can get through the hole you gain enlightenment in your next life.